Only in California does Santa Clause dig rock climbing. That's right, you heard me correctly, with only 2 days left until Christmas Morning, it looks like Santa took a brief vacation and decided to do some serious rock climbing before the big "Delivery Night."

I just stumbled across this article that shows Santa doing exactly that...climbing, and with the Holidays officially surrounding us, how appropriate. According to the photo, he's climbing at Cerro Cabrillo and while his form is a bit off, the spirit is there, but then again, Spirit is one thing Santa could never be accused of lacking.

Rumor has it, Californians have also seen Santa skateboarding, surfing and even mountain biking in the past few days. Maybe he's feeling the economic pinch too and his sleigh is a little less full this year; maybe his naughty list is so huge this 2008 he feels confident in his ability to take a few days off...whatever the case may be, Santa is living large. Lets see if we can get him to join Touchstone Climbing. I don't see how he has much of a choice!

(image via SanLuisObispo.com)

Labels: California, Rock climbing, Santa Claus, Touchstone Climbing

It doesn't matter how often you climb, how many days a week you manage to make it into one of our gyms, how many indoor ascents you've completed...the fact is, Eventually you're going to want to challenge a real rock, outside, in the elements. That said, where do you go?!

I just found a pretty awesome article that goes over the 10 best rock climbs in the entire United States. It doesn't matter where you are, you're not too far from some amazing climbing. Without further ado, here, according to MSNBC, are 10 of the best rock climbs in the USA!

1. The Nose - Yosemite National Park, CA.
2. The Naked Edge - Eldorado Canyon, CO.
3. Casual Route - Rocky Mountain National Park, CO.
4. Royal Arches - Yosemite National Park, CA.
5. East Face of Monkey Face - Smith Rock, OR.
6. Skyline - City of Rocks, ID.
7. Amazon Woman - Quartz Mountain, OK.
8. East Face of Keeler Needle - CA.
9. East Face Direct Route - First Flatiron, CO.
10. Becky Route/Fine Line - Elephant's Perch, ID.

Climbed any of these? Have photos to prove it? Stories? Send them in! We'd love to hear about, talk about, and show off what our Touchstone Climbers have been up to! Get on it!

(Image via smif on Flickr)

Labels: California, City of Rocks, Quartz Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Top 10 Climbs, Yosemite National Park